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GHSA Playoff Round-Up: Thursday, April 23rd

April 24, 2026
Prep Baseball Georgia
Staff

It is playoff time in the state of Georgia, the best time of the year. As we nearly hit the 300 game mark in the regular season, we have 400 games in site with a full slate of playoffs the next month.

We will be recapping each day of games, so be sure to check back daily to see how the games went. 

Thursday

Dalton @ Maynard Jackson

Score: Maynard Jackson win, 10-5

Standouts:
Anthony Higgins, 1B, 2026, Maynard Jackson

Caine Woods, SS, 2028, Dalton

Jude Albino, RHP, 2027, Maynard Jackson

Eric Nabors, OF, 2027, Maynard Jackson

Asher Renfroe, C, 2026, Dalton

Charlie Schrope, 2B, 2026, Maynard Jackson

Pearce Henry, OF, 2027, Maynard Jackson


Malachi Owens, C, 2029, Maynard Jackson

Key Moments: Maynard Jackson jumped out to an early lead after Charlie Schrope walked and Pearce Henry doubled as they came around to score via an Anthony Higgins sac fly to make it 2-0. Dalton responded with a pair of their own in the 2nd as they took advantage of a couple of walks and errors to tie it at 2-2. Caine Woods kickstarted a rally in the 3rd for Dalton with a lead-off double as they pushed across 3-runs and took the lead at 5-2. The Jaguars chipped away at the lead as Pearce Henry walked in the 4th and came around to score as it was now 5-3 with Dalton still on top. The Jaguars offense rallied with 2-outs after Charlie Schrope and Anthony Higgins reached via singles. Malachi Owens came through with an RBI single to make it 5-4 and Eric Nabors followed suit as he delivered a go-ahead 2 RBI 1B as Maynard Jackson retook the lead at 6-5. A pair of back-to-back walks brought Fletcher Howard to the plate as he kept the line rolling with a 2 RBI single as the Jaguars capped off a 6-run inning and led 9-5 after the 5th. Charlie Schrope tacked on another after a lead-off double in the 6th as it was now a 10-5 Maynard Jackson lead. Leon Alford closed things out in the 7th to give the program its first playoff series win in school history.

Avery’s Takeaway: The Jaguars offense erupted late en route to the school bringing home a playoff series win for the first time in program history. Multi-hit performances from Anthony Higgins and Charlie Schrope paced the offense with crucial RBI knocks from Malachi Owens, Eric Nabors, and Fletcher Howard. Pearce Henry showed well across both sides of the ball and continues to stake his claim as one of the top uncommitted outfielders in the state. I was really impressed by Jude Albino and Leon Alford out of the bullpen as both will be crucial pieces in this upcoming series with East Forsyth. The pieces are in place for this squad to potentially bring home another playoff series victory as the offense seems to be clicking at the right time with strengths in pitching that can carry the Jaguars on any given night.

Wayne County @ East Forsyth (G3)

Score: 9-3; East Forsyth W (East to Sweet 16)

Standouts:

Jackson Nichols, RHP, 2026, East Forsyth

Drew Collis, SS, 2026, East Forsyth

Kannon Weber, C, 2027, East Forsyth

Easton Deike, OF, 2026, Wayne Co.

Maddux Wilkerson, 1B, 2026, Wayne Co.

Key Moments: Game 3 was a story told by quality baseball all around for the East Forsyth Broncos as they opened it up early and took it convincingly to move on. There was high anticipation from the first pitch as East came out looking good and stranded a RISP T1. After gritty BBs and a timely knock by Boone Blanton, East took a 2-0 lead, followed by more BBs for a 3-0 lead B1. A quick second by both sides brought the energy back up, but East took advantage again, stranding another man in scoring position. B3 was a loud inning by East with BBs and hits alike as they scraped across 3 more, making it 6-0 as Alastair McKinnis and Jack Adamson picked up RBIs. Wayne responded with 2 of their own with a pair of 2Bs by Cohen Tyre and Easton Deike, as well as a couple of SFs. Yet East quickly got one back after Drew Collis made his impact felt with an RBI rip, making the score 7-2. It was a 1-2-3 T5 for Wayne as Jackson Nichols continued his gem on the mound. East picked up some insurance via Kannon Weber staying red hot and bringing in a run on a RBI 1B. T7, Maddux Wilkerson did hammer a 2K 2B to bring a run, making it 9-3, but it was not enough as East held on to take it and advance.

Takeaway: Game 3 was full of energy in both dugouts, but it was the Bronco’s of East Forsyth who played to their gameplan and advanced. East put together tough AB after tough AB, working long BBs, gritty hits, and overall pesky appearances. All ends were clicking for them as they scored early and often, not looking back. As East continues to the sweet 16, they will hope to continue playing their brand of baseball: stay fundamental, take advantage of mistakes while limiting their own, and hit the ball to all parts of the field. If they are able to maintain this success, they could be an exciting team the rest of this postseason.

Kell @ Locust Grove

Score: Kell win, 8-4

Standouts:

Evan Brand, SS/RHP, 2027, Kell

Corbin Baird, SS, 2029, Locust Grove

Brock Burrus, OF, 2027, Kell

Ashton Murphy, 2B, 2027, Kell

Landen Lunsford, 3B/RHP, 2026, Locust Grove

Key Moments: After escaping a jam, Locust Grove would jump out to an early lead thanks to a Liam Collier first-inning RBI 1B that would account for the only total run across the first three innings. Both Patrick Honeyman for Kell and Landen Lunsford for LG would show grit to pitch out of multiple bases-loaded situations early. Kell would push across their first run in the 4th thanks to four straight singles that would lead to an RBI walk for Brock Burrus. Locust Grove would quickly take the lead back in the bottom half, scoring two on a wild pitch and RBI 1B from AJ Davis then adding another run in the 6th with a RBI 2B Ayden Elliott to carry a 4-1 lead into the 7th. Longhorns then proceeded to flip the game on its head with their season on the line. Four singles and a walk would tie things up at four with two outs in the inning, before Evan Brand would poke the go-ahead 2-run 2B down the line to open a string of three straight RBI 2B for Kell to jump out to an 8-4 lead. Brand would close things out on the mound as well, pitching the last 1.2 IP and clinching the massive 4 vs. 1 first-round upset.

Ian’s Takeaway: This is the type of series win for the Longhorns that gives you invaluable confidence to make a run with a “why not us” mentality. Former Future Gamer and Georgia Tech commit SS Evan Brand nearly won the series by himself, hitting .750 out of the leadoff while getting on-base 15 times in total in the series while notching the series-winning hit and save on the mound. Brock Burrus and Preston Bottoms showed to be extra-base threats at any time and will be huge if this offense wants to keep producing at a high clip. Gary Buchanan proved huge in GM3, flipping the order with a 3-for-3 night and will be needed to carry that production going forward. Pitching staff showed more depth than expected this series with confidence in multiple arms that could be the most component to making a deep playoff run, especially here in Georgia.

Greenbrier @ Habersham Central

Scores:
GM 1:
Greenbrier 1
Habersham Central 5
GM2:
Habersham Central 0
Greenbrier 3

Standouts:
Maverick Chitwood, OF, 2026, Habersham Central

Lucas Machado, RHP, 2027, Habersham Central

Rylan Farlow, SS/RHP, 2028, Greenbrier

Devon McLoughlin, SS/RHP, 2028, Greenbrier


Key Moments:
GM 1: The action started from the jump with Maverick Chitwood driving the first pitch in the bottom half of the 1st off the left center wall for a double. Habersham Central would capitalize on 2 errors and a balk to put up 4 in the first. Greenbrier was able to strike back in the 2nd on a double by Jackson Fletcher. From there both pitches settled in and exchanged 0’s on the scoreboard until the 5th. Ethan Wheeler came up big with a 2 out double for some much needed insurance runs. The Raiders would go on to take the 5-1 win in game with Lucas Machado going a complete game on the mound.

GM 2: Habersham Central started game 2 as the visitor and sure enough Maverick Chitwood was right on que with a barrel on the 2nd pitch of the game. Devon McLoughlin ended up escaping the lead off single to send it to the bottom half. Branson Smith and Devon McLoughlin had a pitchers duel rolling for 4 innings. Leland McCook would come up big with a backside single to load the bases and would score the first runs of the game on an error. The Raiders had a chance to tie in the 5th with the tying run on 2nd, but Greenbrier decision to intentionally walk Chitwood to load the bases paid off. They went on to score one more run on a pass ball and clinch the game 2 win 3-0.

Huddy’s Takeaway’s: This was an exciting 5A match up that I was really looking forward to. I have followed this Habersham team the last few years and watched them nearly knock off the state champs last year in the playoffs. They are well coached and are always up for the challenge, no matter the opponent. Lucas Machado has emerged as the one for this team, with Branson Smith stepping up this spring as well. Maverick Chitwood continues to do what he does, as he has since we first saw him at 13/14. He has some of the best bat to ball in the state and always finds the barrel in each look. He is the go to arm on the mound when they need a win or to close it out late. This was the 2nd look at Greenbrier and Rylan Farlow looked even better than he did in the first look. He was sitting 90-92 in the first couple of innings, hitting 93 multiple times. The command got scattered at times, but flipped over the curveball a lot more than he did the last time. Devon McLoughlin had a multi hit day at the plate and tossed 7 innings of shutout ball in game 2. He has the tools, and is going to be fun to watch develop the next couple years. They will square off in game 3 Saturday with a sweet 16 berth on the line. Habersham Central will lean on their experience vs young Greenbrier team.

Ola @ Cambridge

Score: Cambridge win, 6-5

Standouts:

Ethan Herrington, 1B/RHP, 2027, Cambridge

Bryson Long, 1B/LHP, 2026, Ola

Solomon Lee, 1B/3B, 2027, Cambridge

Daniel Mendez, SS/RHP, 2026, Ola

Key Moments: In a very intense Game 3, Ola came out of the gates swinging, as Bryson Long launched a two-run home run in the first inning. Both pitchers settled in after that—Graham Stacey filled up the zone for Ola and kept his team in the game, while Ethan Herrington attacked the zone for the Bears and stayed composed through some tough moments with runners in scoring position. Cambridge responded in the third inning with two runs. Tyler McKinley put together a quality at-bat that resulted in a sacrifice fly, and Calloway Holmes followed with a double into the gap to tie the game at two. Patrick Spencer led off the fourth with a base hit and later came around to score on small ball from the Bears to take a 3–2 lead. Ola answered in the fifth with consecutive knocks from the top of the order to take a 5–3 lead. Long and Mendez both delivered two-out base hits, driving in three runs. In the bottom of the sixth, with two outs, Holmes drew a walk. Spencer stepped up and hit a high chopper to third that was overthrown, allowing Holmes to score from first. A second error on the play led to an inside-the-park home run, tying the game at five. Ola went down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh as Ethan Rasper came out of the bullpen for the Bears and attacked the strike zone. Degenhard led off the bottom half with a single to left, and Herrington followed with another base hit to left, putting runners on the corners with one out. Solomon Lee stayed within himself and lifted a fastball to deep center field for the game-winning sacrifice fly.

Takeaway: It was a great series to cover, with tons of talent on the field and a lot of energy from both the crowd and the dugouts. Both lineups were tough to get out and never went down without a fight. The senior class for Ola was special and did everything they could to give themselves a chance to win. Cambridge played with a lot of confidence, and their energy never dipped regardless of the score. The pitching staff stepped up in a big way, keeping them in the game and giving them a chance to rally. Cambridge will look to carry this momentum into the second round as they face Starr’s Mill.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Showcase State Date Location
LakePoint Summer ID GA 05/27 LakePoint Sports
LakePoint Rising Stars (2030-2031 Grads) GA 05/27 LakePoint Sports
Top Prospect Games: Underclass (Invite Only) GA 06/02 LakePoint Sports
Top Prospect Games: Upperclass (Invite Only) GA 06/09 LakePoint Sports
Athens Summer ID GA 06/16 Universtiy of Georgia-Foley Field
Athens Rising Stars ID (2030-2031 Grads) GA 06/16 Universtiy of Georgia-Foley Field
Augusta Summer ID GA 06/23 Augusta University
Augusta Rising Stars ID (2030-2031 Grads) GA 06/23 Augusta University
Macon Summer ID GA 06/30 Southern Pines Indoor Facility
Savannah Summer ID GA 07/07 Benedictine Military
Savannah Rising Stars ID (2030-2031 Grads) GA 07/07 Benedictine Military

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